


Nevermore Alone

by TrashcanGod



Series: i will turn myself into a gun [2]
Category: Persona 5
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Don't read unless you've gotten past That Part in the november palace, Gen, M/M, Spoilers, just a neat what-if scenario that i wanted to share
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-07-17
Updated: 2017-07-17
Packaged: 2018-12-03 12:36:19
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 715
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11532360
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TrashcanGod/pseuds/TrashcanGod
Summary: Remember how the Phantom Thieves all had their second awakening after Akira helped them through a journey of self-discovery?Well.





	Nevermore Alone

**Author's Note:**

> Now I have three multi-chapter works conceived but not yet birthed, and yet I'm continuing to write oneshots about Akechi Goro.  
> (An in-depth explanation on my though process at the end.)

Akechi stares into the abyss of his doppleganger's eyes. They are dull, lifeless, void of emotion even as the puppet aims its own gun while staring down the barrel of another. Akechi can't help but think that it's not an entirely inaccurate portrayal.

The Phantom Thieves are still trapped on the other side of the partition, but they've ceased their yelling and banging. At least he'll be able to die without a headache. And he is certainly going to die--he has no illusions in that regard. His copy will kill him and he will drag it down with him, while Kurusu's party of do-gooders escapes to finally put an end to this. His final act will be the only good deed he's committed in his contemptible, nugatory life, and it will be for Kurusu Akira. (It's almost funny that in his final moments, Akechi feels as if the two of them have somehow grown closer.)

He doesn't want to die, not really, but surely it's what he deserves. Though he's quickly come to terms with his unplanned demise, he can't help but wish that he'd had a chance to try again, this time with the company of someone who would reassure him that it wasn't impossible.

His trigger finger itches. Enough stalling. Akechi Goro's story must come to a close.

_"Must this truly be the end...?"_

Akechi's breath catches.

_"Or is this the time for a new tale to begin?"_

He tries not to look visibly alarmed at the unfamiliar voice that echoes in the throngs of his mind. It is entirely different from Robin Hood's thundering heroism, or Loki's cynical laughter; this voice is a melodic tenor, full-bodied yet gentle, almost--Akechi wants to laugh--fatherly.

This is impossible. It's far too convenient, and Akechi's life is _never_ convenient. But the throb in his skull, though less pronounced than the previous two times, is unmistakable.

_"You have long since lost your faith in this world, and have fallen into darkness, committing immeasurable sin... Now, redemption is finally within reach."_

The puppet watches with vague curiosity while Akechi's free hand reaches up to clutch at his broken helmet, his face pinching slightly as an unseen ice pick drives into his skull. He grabs at the edge to pull the headpiece off, unceremoniously dropping it on the floor to bury an armor-gloved hand in his hair.

_"Tell me--will you take the hand offered to you by those whom you have wronged, yet hold faith in you nonetheless? Or would you rather end your life than take the chance to change?"_

Akechi furls his fingers, catching on matted knots as his nails dig into his scalp. "If I were to take any hand," he struggles to whisper, "it would be his." A chuckle echoes through his mind, soft and warm.

_"Very well, then."_

The pain intensifies further, and Akechi curls inward on himself, gun still shakily trained on his double.

_"I am thou; thou art I. Free thyself from the chains that have bound thee since thy first breath. Thou art a prisoner no longer. Thou shalt see the light that this world holds."_

The contract is sealed with a gunshot--it seems that his opponent grew tired of waiting. Akechi, however, feels no wound. When he looks up, he sees the copy's empty eyes widen at the glowing form that has shielded Akechi from harm, tall and sturdy like an unbending oak.

"Valjean," Akechi addresses, voice quiet but shaking with a constrained maelstrom of emotions--pain, excitement, wrathful indigence, cautious hope. He slowly untangles his hand from his hair to reach for the mask now covering the top half of his face. "Lend me your strength."

He stares directly into the void of his cognitive double's eyes as he grabs the edge of his mask, and pulls.

The white mask, plain but for eyes and brows resembling the ever-laughing mask of Thalia, is slicked red with blood as Akechi rips it from his skin. With the disguise he has worn for so long finally discarded, Akechi aims his weapon once more, shaky at first, but steadied by Valjean's guiding hand.

A second gunshot.

The puppet falls.

As the remaining Shadows poise to pounce, Valjean's light envelops him, and within that glow, Akechi Goro vanishes.

**Author's Note:**

> I was thinking about Persona 5 after getting through the November Palace again in new game+ (even more painful the second time) when I realized: Akechi hit rank 10 right before his self-sacrifice, and what does rank 10 mean for all the other party members? New awakening, Oh Shit.
> 
> At first I wondered whether or not he could even have one, since he himself is a wild card, but then I figured that the other Phantom Thieves' second awakenings didn't actually have a whole lot to do with Akira's wild card status; they were all the result of some grand realization or self-discovery or huge personal growth or something. Which, by the way, Akechi's final moments totally fit the bill for.
> 
> So then I started wondering about what his new Persona would be. I figured it wouldn't be an upgrade like the others' since he's a wild card and all, instead it'd just be a third Persona added to his roster. At first I kind of wanted it to be some sort of counterpart to Arsene Lupin, but ultimately, I just wanted it to fit this development in Akechi's character--it needed to represent redemption.
> 
> I thought and thought and thought, and then--a character who not only got the short end of the stick, but was then beaten mercilessly with the long end? Who then lost all faith in society and humanity itself? And then tried to harm (kill) a guy who still proceeded to show him kindness and gave him a chance to change? And not only that, but then vanished completely (and maybe died but it was kind of ambiguous so there's at least enough leeway to write theories like this)?
> 
> You know who that reminds me of?
> 
> Jean Val-fuckin-jean, from the classic heartwarming tragedy Les Miserables.
> 
> Now this isn't to say that I think Akechi would pull a Valjean and go become fuckin good guy #1 or something, but that's not what Valjean is supposed to represent here--this is Akechi's entire worldview, and view of himself, shifting because one dude and his ragtag team of misfits decided to show him an ounce of kindness and acceptance.
> 
> Not sure about what Valjean would look like, but I guess Akechi's new costume would probably be reminiscent of a French revolutionary? (This is not because I want Akechi in 19th century clothing, though that is very true.) Aside from that, I feel like the laughing-drama-mask is pretty self-explanatory.
> 
> Also, hey, in this fun little headcanon/AU, you could even take Yusuke's earlier invite to see the in-universe spoof of Les Mis as some game-typical foreshadowing.


End file.
